Modeling of Snow Load on Roofs of Unique Buildings

Introduction: The purpose of the work is to study the processes of snow transfer and snow deposition on the roofing of a unique building. Currently, the problem of assigning snow loads to the roofs of buildings and structures remains relevant, since cases of roof collapses in winter are still recorded annually, including those in the Russian Federation. A circus building with the roof in the form of a suspended reinforced concrete shell was chosen as the object of study. Methods: The design diagram for this type of roof is contained in SP 20.13330.2016; the snow load distribution diagrams for this roof were adopted according to Appendix B to SP 20.13330.2016. The author considered several options of snow load distribution and chose the most unfavorable one, when an increased value of the snow load is observed on one half of the roofing. During one winter period, field measurements of the thickness of the snow cover were carried out at the site. Results:It was established that in general, with the exception of local zones, the actual distribution of snow cover coincides with the adopted design solution, while the actual value of the weight of the snow cover for the current winter season was significantly lower than the calculated one. Discussion: The obtained result demonstrates that when developing design solutions for certain types of suspended roofing, it is permissible, without conducting specialized experimental studies, to use the data given in the scientific and technical literature, based on the results of monitoring the thickness of the snow cover on the roofing of the building.